2015 has a been a great year for video.
Everywhere we turn, the internet gives us another study reporting the adoption and effectiveness of video.
Hardly anyone questions the strength of video marketing. But what type of video should you use and how should you use it?
We have about a million great ideas to help answer that. So, to help inspire you, we'll start with sharing the four of the biggest video marketing trends we've seen this year.
Mobile Video
The number 1 spot on the Biggest Video Marketing Trends list has to go to mobile video.
Have you checked your analytics lately? How many views are you getting from mobile? I’d bet if you did a comparison from last year, you'd see an increase.
Well guess what? The mobile trend has hit video too.
Google’s algorithm change this spring gave mobile-friendly websites a leg up in mobile search. And according to a recent report by eMarketer, Mobile video viewing jumped 10% this year (this is while laptop and desktop viewing stalls for the first time).
56% of viewers watch video on their smartphones, compared to 46% last year.
If that jump isn't enough to convince you your customers are embracing mobile viewing, check out this stat:
It’s more important than ever to make sure your videos are mobile-ready. If you self-host, check in with your webmaster to see if they’ve optimized for mobile. If you need help, I’d recommend trying any of the following hosting services:
Video in Marketing Automation
Marketing Automation is another big video marketing trend.
Marketing Automation on it's own is just plain smart.
58% of top-perfoming companies (defined as those where marketing contributes more than half of the sales pipeline), have adopted marketing automation. (Forrester Research).
And...
B2C marketers who take advantage of automation have seen conversion rates as high as 50%! (eMarketer)
This year, we’ve seen a marked increase in the use of video with marketing automation. And the increase has been for good reason.
[tweet_dis]Just using the word ‘video’ in an email subject line increases open rates by 19%![/tweet_dis] It also increases click through rates by 65% and reduces unsubscribes by 26%. (Syndacast)
And while we're on the subject, did you know that 45% of the companies that use marketing automation, regularly repurpose content?
We particularly love this statistic. We are big proponents of repurposing content.
If you’d like a video, but want to get more than a single use out of it, contact us. We can help!
Less Gimmick, More Story
Remember the Old Spice Guy? How about A Dollar Shave Club? Both were great video campaigns that seem out of place in 2015, right?
We’ve noticed that, this year, video has come back to storytelling. And we’re relieved. Not that we didn't like the gimmicky video. We did. We just didn’t love it. We love storytelling.
The rise of content marketing adoption has helped bring marketers back to the Engage, Educate and Entertain model. Consumers want quality content that helps inform their decision making process. Of course entertainment is still a priority, but the priority is back where it belongs: In third place.
Overall, the popular videos we’ve seen take off have stayed away from the gimmick and stayed true to the story.
Take Puppyhood by Purina Puppy Chow for example. It engages people by telling a familiar story in an entertaining way.
We’re not saying that gimmicks are no longer a part of video marketing. They are. But this year more often the story is there first.
Personally, we’re relieved.
Here are two more commercials we really thought hit the mark:
#DodgeWisdom - Official 2015 Dodge Super Bowl Commercial
Live Streaming
Thanks to Meerkat and Periscope, everyone can live stream! Social video has been on the rise for the better part of this decade, but platforms like these make it accessible to anyone.
Of course, that doesn’t mean every one is doing it well (how many fridge tours can one person take??). But there are plenty of brands out there that are killing it in this medium.
For example, do you follow "Central Intelligence" star Kevin Hart? Well you should. That man is smart. And his interactivity with his fans is inspired.
How about Netlfix? This Spring, Netflix used Periscope to stream a guinea pig wandering between zones on a floor. One was marked, “Study” and the other “Netflix”. They put this out around college finals season.
And General Electric used Periscope to live stream a behind-the-scenes interview with astrophysicist, Neil deGrasse Tyson and scientist Bill Nye.
We expect to see more brands adopt Periscope and Meerkat into their marketing strategy in 2016. The use cases are close to endless.
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We'd love to talk about you about how to integrate any of these trends into your video marketing strategy. Remember, 2016 is just around the corner.
Download our 7 Must Have Videos and get planning!
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